An accused killer and member of the notorious Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while hiding out in a major suburb in Northern Virginia.
Isabel Idalia Morales-Mejia, a Salvadoran illegal alien, is charged with aggravated homicide and illicit associations in her home country. She was taken into custody by ICE in Woodbridge, just south of Washington, D.C., after Salvadoran authorities tipped off the agency she “may be hiding in Northern Virginia,” ICE said.
ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Robert Guadian commented that “the media would consider her to be a ‘non-criminal’ because she has no known criminal history in the United States — despite the fact that she is facing charges for aggravated homicide in El Salvador.”
“Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia is not only a known associate of the notorious MS-13 transnational criminal organization, but she apparently attempted to flee justice in her native country by illegally residing in Virginia,” said Guadian, adding, “ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities.”
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The arrest comes as Northern Virginia, particularly nearby Fairfax County, faces an ongoing increase in migrant-related crime, including several murders and assaults. Three of the four murders committed this year and currently under investigation in Fairfax County were allegedly committed by individuals in the country illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In nearby Arlington, Virginia, another person in the country illegally has been charged with attempted rape and assault of a woman waiting for a rideshare.
Several of these individuals have long criminal histories, including dozens of arrests for violent crimes.
DHS has condemned Northern Virginia Democrats over their “sanctuary” policies, saying they “play Russian Roulette with American lives” by releasing charged individuals from jail back into local neighborhoods.
On Thursday, ICE announced on X that Morales-Mejia had been taken into custody on March 12 following a tip from Salvadoran authorities. The agency said the Salvadoran Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement Task Force provided DHS with updated information regarding Morales-Mejia’s possible presence in Northern Virginia, prompting ICE Washington, D.C., to investigate. DHS said she is a foreign fugitive wanted for aggravated homicide and illicit associations stemming from 2013 charges.
The agency said she entered the U.S. on an unknown date and unknown location. She entered the country without being inspected, admitted or paroled by any U.S. immigration officials.
The agency said she will remain in ICE custody pending a deportation decision before ultimately facing justice in her home country.
El Salvador is home to one of the most notorious prisons in the world, known as the Terrorist Confinement Center, or CECOT. The maximum-security prison was launched under Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. It is known to hold a large number of MS-13 gang members as well as members of other gangs.
Last year, the U.S. sent several hundred alleged gang member deportees to CECOT, a move that caused significant controversy.
